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General

MaPP (MAgnetic Protostars and Planets) is a new project aimed at investigating the role of magnetic fields in the formation of stars and planetary systems. Youth is indeed the period in the life of stars where magnetic fields are expected to have the strongest impact, eg through the magnetically-controlled accretion/ejection processes involved in the collapse of the protostellar cloud from which stars and planets form.

MaPP focusses especially on the core regions of protostellar accretion discs - including the newly born star and closely orbiting planets. By collecting new observational data and running dedicated multi-D MHD numerical simulations, MaPP is expected to unveil how magnetic fields modify the formation of stars and their protoplanetary systems.

MAPP is part of the MagIcS international initiative aimed at studying the origin and impact of magnetic fields on stars throughout the HR diagram. MaPP gathers astronomers from many different countries, including France, Canada, UK, Taiwan & USA. MaPP is supported by France (ANR funding, CNRS/PNPS support) and the CFHT community (LP allocation).